FREEPORT — Matt Spielmann wants to step back and give back to the game he’s played for many years.

The Freeport alum, who has dominated local amateur tournaments after an accomplished high school and college career, is now dedicated to becoming a certified golf pro.

“It’s a good experience and it’s something that I’ve done my whole life,” Spielmann said. “It’s something that I wanted to pursue and that’s why I chose professional golf.”

Spielmann moved to Florida to compete for five months when he first turned pro.

“It was a good experience,” Spielmann said. “It was something that I always wanted to try and had the opportunity to do it so I did it.”

Spielmann, who became the youngest Freeport City Tournament champion at age 15, said he spent most of his time in Florida working to improve his game and got better in tournaments.

He had his fun in the sun, but eventually returned home and now works as an assistant pro at Rockford Country Club and would like to eventually become certified.

“Not much has changed, other than that I don’t play in amateur events any more,” said Spielmann, who played for Northern Illinois University’s men’s golf team. “All of my professionalism now relies on the golf course.

“I’m just an assistant pro here and work on day-to-day stuff running tournaments and that kind of thing.”

Spielmann already had experience working at the Freeport Country Club, so it was an easy transition.

“I kind of knew what I was getting into,” he said. “I just jumped up to a bigger scale in Rockford.”

But the move to professional management takes time.

“It’s completely different,” he said. “I have book work I have to go through and there’s different levels and tests that I have to pass. It’s a three- or four-year process before I become a certified professional. I just started this spring.”

Spielmann hopes that, once certified, he can work professionally for a very long time.

“I think it’s something that I could potentially do for the rest of my life,” he said. “Obviously the demands for being a golf professional are high.

“It’s a lot of hours, a lot of work, but I enjoy being around the people that enjoy golf and just help them improve their game or help them improve their experience.”

As far as local amateur tournaments like the Freeport City Tournament at Park Hills and the Stephenson Cup at the Freeport Country Club, Spielmann will still keep his ear to the ground.

“I still live in town so I’ll still hear about it,” he said. “I have a lot of friends from around town that still play in it. I still stay involved and will maybe drop by around the afternoon and see how everyone is doing.”